On their way home, Tae takes Kasumi to Space before the owner closes the venue for the night. Tae then explains to Kasumi that after working at Space for three months, she’s become familiar with the owner’s high standards for the bands that perform in the live show so it’s easy for her to assume that Kasumi’s band has no chance. Kasumi is undeterred however, declaring that she’ll get good enough to pass the audition, so Tae challenges her and the others to put on a performance so good that it makes her heart tremble, just like with Space’s live shows. If the band accomplishes that much then Tae will feel a lot more confident with their chances.
Kasumi informs the others of the challenge the next day, during their lunch period. Unsurprisingly, Arisa is less than thrilled but she begrudgingly goes along with it. I like how this scene is presented as if Tae is absent, before revealing that she actually has joined Kasumi’s circle for lunch. It’s a bit silly considering that Tae joining them would be inevitable but it works since it’s the kind of quirky humor one would expect with the character. Also funny is Arisa calling Tae the “enemy”, which I suppose is true since Tae issued the challenge but really, Arisa is probably still salty over Tae taking her precious Kasumi away from her for a few days. Curiously, Kasumi calls Tae her friend in response to Arisa’s silly comment and Tae is actually touched by this, explaining that she’s never been called that before. I don’t recall this season going over it but I imagine Tae didn’t have a lot of friends until she met Kasumi and that can maybe explain why she’s such a silly bean.
After school, Kasumi attempts to get part-time jobs at Space for herself, Arisa, and Rimi. Kasumi hopes that working there would help her understand the venue some more. Unfortunately for her, the owner declines on hiring her and the others, on the basis that the girls likely lack the time for both the job and school. On the flipside, Kasumi does get to learn some things about Space through secondhand information Rimi got from Yuri. Apparently, the owner was in a band herself and she built Space to help create a more positive impression of music venues. The audition process came about to ensure that only people who love music as much as the owner does get to perform. In light of the new information Rimi shared, Kasumi gains a better understanding of Space when she and the others attend the latest live show, recognizing the venue’s passion and becoming even more determined to pass Tae’s challenge and perform there as a result.
Of course, now is where the girls have to figure out how they should go about with Tae’s challenge. Obviously, Space is a no go and the music room at school is already reserved for various clubs so naturally, everyone settles on Arisa’s warehouse as the location for their performance. Once again, Arisa is annoyed at everyone mooching off of her home. To be honest, she probably should’ve seen this coming. I’d be sympathetic if it wasn’t so funny. As for the song, Kasumi suggests “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” (I’m convinced that’s the only song she knows by name), which of course gets shot down immediately by Arisa. The gang soon settles on a song Rimi has been workshopping with Yuri, “My Heart is a Chocolate Cornet”. Impressed, Kasumi decides to perform the song for the challenge.
Once the girls begin practicing the song, it quickly becomes apparent to them that Kasumi has no idea how to read sheet music. Since Rimi and Arisa know very little about guitars, the band decides to call in Tae to teach Kasumi how to play the song and practice it with them. I love the irony that develops from this. Like, Tae is the one who came up with this whole challenge in the first place and yet, she ends up helping Kasumi and others in making sure they’ll succeed said challenge. While perhaps counterproductive for Tae, it is oddly plausible for her to do. For one, it’s Tae. Of course, the terms of her own idea would slip her mind. Second, Tae looks a lot happier when she joins the others in their practice sessions than when she’s by herself waiting for the day of the performance. Helping the others is completely understandable because it means she gets to be with all her new friends.
A couple days later, the girls put on their performance. The club show is actually attended by some of their friends and relatives: Arisa’s grandmother, Kasumi’s younger sister Asuka (Yuka Ozaki0), Yuri, and Saya. Tae also brings her pet bunny, Odd-Eye, whom she jokingly refers to as her boyfriend (really getting Ghost Stories dub flashbacks now). Apparently, Asuka is already acquainted with Yuri, as the two of them are part of Hanasakigawa’s swimming team. Saya’s attendance is particularly interesting given her declining to join Kasumi’s band and her apparent estranged relationship with music. That she puts time aside to see her friends perform is sort of a sign that her inevitably changing her mind.
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